The Limits of Chivalry
by Capybara
Summary: AlexSophiaVince. Character death spoliers. After Exile, Empress Sophia is forced to take on the role of leading the remains of Dissith and Anatoray. As if that wasn't hard enough, it seems that Alex left behind a little bit of his legacy...


The Limits of Chivalry

Disclaimer: I do not own Last Exile.

A/N: This is a long one-shot that I thought of while watching the final episodes of the one of the best animes I've ever seenLast Exile. Anyway, it has the potiential to be modeled into a trilogy, but I wanted to see if it was worth my trouble. What you are about to read is the rough draft, with the best parts. I could flesh it out more and make it a far longer story, but I have a lot of other fics right now...but I just had to post this. So, forgive me for all of the typos that are sure to be there. Anyway, please enjoy it.

oOooOo

By sheer force of will, Sophia held herself together and stood with all of the Silvanna's crew watching the majestic ship Exile. _Alex. I hope that you can see this. _She bit back all emotion, knowing that she could not let herself feel anything, or she would lose what little control she had over herself. The golden ship hung silently in the air. Sophia looked up into the sky, amazed to see the crystal sky above her that went farther into eternity than it had ever before. There was no Grand Stream anymore to distort the sky.

A flock of rain birds wheeled through the sky. Was there to be even more rain? Surely it was a good sign. Sophia looked around, surprised to find that she was saluting Exile, as were the rest of her crew mates. This was what countless people had given their lives for. There was no Guild. There was no Dissith. There was no Anatoray. _Was it worth it? _

She had said it was in the heat of battle. Did her words still hold true now that the moment was gone? Now that she would have to face the silence after the storm? Sophia felt her strength leaving her. She would not be able to hold back the emotion much longer.

"This...is the birth of a new world, my Empress," Vincent laid a hand on her shoulder. Sophia turned to look at him.

"Vince? When did you—I thought—how..." Sophia wondered how he had gotten to her so quickly. Vince smiled wearily at her. "It wasn't easy. The Urbanis is beyond repair...but a certain Sir Matt Fane came and picked my crew up."

"Matt Fane?" Sophia saw the duke gazing up at Exile. Relief flooded over her. She was afraid that she would eventually have to take charge of the situation by herself, and declare the Guild gone. Now, at least she could share the burden with Vince and Matt.

"Empress...you will have to mend the world, now that the Guild has been destroyed entirely," Vince said. Sophia closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. A monumental task lay ahead of her. But had she not volunteered for this?

"Yes, I will have to do so. But first I have to change out of these clothes," She opened her eyes once more to see Exile.

Vince stared at her for a moment. She looked so exhausted, so fragile. "Empress, when was the last time you slept?" Sophia gazed in surprise at him, realizing it must not have been for nearly two days.

"When was the last time _you _slept?" Sophia asked. Vincent chuckled softly and replied, "Touché." He figured it hadn't been in a few days either.

oOooOo

Sophia closed the door behind her and felt that she couldn't walk anymore. She fell onto the bed in her chambers as the Empress. The speech she had given had been brief, merely outlining the current situation. In fact, she did not remember half of what she had said. But what did she care now? What was said was said, and finally she could sleep. The council members could handle it until she woke up again. _Hopefully in about two days. _Sophia was glad that she was too exhausted to even think about feeling the pain from losing him.

Her eyes fluttered open. Sophia's vision was blurry. _I was crying in my sleep? What for—_And then it all came back to her.

"_NO!" _She screamed, not caring if anyone heard her. Tears cascaded in an endless march down her face, and her entire body was racked with sobs. Sophia buried her head into her pillow. _"_Alex..." Her throat was too constricted for her to gasp out any more than his name, over and over and over. He couldn't be gone, he just couldn't, not when she had finally realized! Not before she had ever told him! Not before he even knew! Sophia cried, wondering how anything could be this cruel. She felt she would rather have been disemboweled by Delphine herself and watched as she bled to death.

After a seeming eternity, Sophia's weakened body could not force one single more tear to fall down her stained face. She simply lay there, feeling as if she could never see the sun shine again. Was it possible to survive this kind of pain? And then she felt sick. Her stomach churned and Sophia dashed into her lavish bathroom and was promptly sick. It made her feel better, if only physically.

The tears started up again, far more slowly this time. Sophia stood up shakily. She opened the window to get a breath of fresh air. The soft wind tossed her unbound hair, only reminding her of being in the skies, which reminded her of the Silvanna, which reminded her of him. Was there no escape?

"God, Alex...how could you...?" Sophia whispered weakly to the wind. "How could you be so—so selfish? To leave me here..." _Why couldn't I have died? When I gave the order to charge after Delphine, I was so certain that I was going to die. _But she hadn't. She was still alive, as her pain stated mercilessly.

Finally, Sophia remembered that there was an entire world outside that needed her leadership. There was no time for her to be worrying about herself. Drying her tears and hoping that her eyes would not be too red; she donned her court clothes and cautiously ventured out of her room. The hallway was empty. Obviously someone had ordered for her not to be disturbed. That was good. Then no one would have heard her crying, and no one would care.

oOooOo

Two weeks later, Sophia was tired. She was just as exhausted as she had been the when she had returned from the Silvanna and collapsed on her bed. Why was it taking so long for her to recover? _I must be getting old..._ Sophia shut her eyes and sleep granted her quick admission into its black depths.

"_Alex! Yuris is gone," She said icily. He looked up at her as if she had slapped him. His eyes were so...sad. He looked away and said nothing. She realized what she had said in her rage and instantly regretted it. The worst part was that he made no move to defend himself. He simply looked out the window, away from her. How could she have hurt him like that? But it was the truth. Yuris was gone. He needed to move on. _

_She whispered, "I'm sorry." And left him. She was going back home. Still, it was hard to walk down the hallways of the Silvanna and know that she would never come back. Each step she took away cut through her like a knife. She did not know why it was hurting her so. She just could not get his face out of her mind. _

_When she boarded the plane, he was not there to see her go. _

Once more she woke to find her pillow wet with tears, and more tears still leaking from her eyes. Sophia sat up. The room spun around her for a moment and then she felt the now familiar queasiness return, much stronger than it had been the previously.

After she had been sick, Sophia wondered if she should go see a doctor. She did not happen to have the time on her hands to be sick, especially when the Union needed her leadership so badly.

Sophia washed herself and made herself as presentable as possible. Outside her door, she ran into Vince.

"Vincent?" Sophia asked. He looked so weary. She regretted depending on him so much recently. His eyes met hers and held them ruthlessly.

"Sophia." She was startled. He had not called her by her name for a long time.

"Yes...?"

"Sophia. Don't lie to me. What is wrong?"

"N-nothing, I'm perfectly—" Sophia began, hoping that her lie was not that obvious. She tried to walk past him, and he caught her wrist.

"You're lying," He stated gravely. "You need to tell someone what's the matter. It doesn't have to be me. Find a female confidant, anything. But don't lie and tell me you're perfectly fine."

"Vince..." She sighed. How had he known that she had been aching for someone to listen to her story, someone to look out for her, just once, instead of the other way around? "Come in to my room and sit down...it's a long story..."

Vince smiled slightly and followed her into her room. Sophia sat down on her bed and he sat down on the chair beside her desk.

"Sophia...thank you. For letting me help you," Vince said quietly. Sophia murmured, "No. I am to be thanking you."

She looked out her window, to the sky. "I guess what happened was my fault entirely...I knew it was wrong and yet...

"I joined the Silvanna to see the world through the eyes of a normal person, and to be free in the skies, regardless of the fact that it was what my father wantedto keep an eye on Alex.It was one of my childhood dreams.

"He placed me in second-in-command, the perfect spot for me to practice the leadership skills I would later need as empress. I still am not sure exactly when it happened...but it did. One day, I was just talking to him about something or other...and then I realized...I was in love with him.

"It was something about him, the way he suffered constantly, silently. It was something about his endless eyes, his presence, or maybe it was just the way he would brush the hair out of his eyes and almost smile when he stood on the deck of the Silvanna and look into the sky.

"I knew about his past, and when I was called to return to Anatoray, I expected him to try and stop me. But he didn't, and it hurt me. That was when I had to realize that my feelings were meaningless. It was worse that my presence pained him, because I am well aware that I look terribly like Yuris..." Sophia met Vince's eyes.

"Vince, you know that the Dissith leader died yesterday. And I'm sure that you heard all of my council members urging me to marry. I am the only royalty left, and the council is greedy for an heir. The most strategic thing for me to do would be to marry a Dissith noble in an attempt to cement our peaceful relationship...but I can't."

Vincent sighed. As much as he wanted her to be happy, Sophia was the key to making sure the remaining people would not break out into civil war. They needed her.

"And I know what you're thinking," Sophia interrupted his thoughts. "But if it were only that easy, I would marry a Dissith man, because that is what needs to be done. I admit I don't want to do it, but I can't. The people of Dissith look...different. How do you think the Dissith survivors would react when my child didn't turn out to look like a Dissith person?"

Vince frowned. What was she talking about? Of course her child would look partially like the Dissith man. Besides, even if it wasn't quite so obvious, why would Dissith cause trouble depending on what the child looked like? Unless...Vince stood up in surprise. "Sophia...you don't mean..."

She looked once more out the window. A bitter smile played on her lips. "Naturally my child will look every inch Anatoray. I only realized it this morning. For a moment I even laughed at myself for being so blind. What do you think she will look like Vincethe daughter of Alex Rowe?"

"The daughter of Alex...Sophia, when did..." He couldn't bring himself to ask what he needed to ask. All he felt at the moment was a strange combination of jealousy, hate, and surprise.

Sophia smiled. "I'm not really sure myself. Well, I mean I know _when _it happened. But why? I don't know. It just happened one night...I'll never forget it as long as I live." Her eyes were once more focused on him.

"However, that is unimportant. I cannot change the fact that it happened. What matters most it that now I cannot marry a Dissith man and pass the child off as his. Knowing Alex, his child will look exactly like him. It would be immediately obvious that the child was not of Dissith descent. And that would cause war. My only hope now is to marry a man of Anatoray. Then I can claim the child his. How would the Union react to its leader having an illegitimate child?

"Yes, the Union wants me to have an heir, but it must be legitimate. And in that case...I don't have much more time to marry someone before it is too late to even say the child is theirs. And I can't just marry anyone...they would have to know the secret..." A tear slid down her face. Sophia bent her head low in a futile attempt to hide the fact she was crying.

For a moment Vince had wondered whether or not Sophia had loved Alex, truly loved him, but it was very apparent that she did. This sent up a spike of hatred for the captain of the Silvanna. Why had he left this woman behind? How could Alex have left her to suffer like this? Vincent had long since admitted to himself that he had feelings for Sophia, though to what extent, he did not know. But it pained him to see her in any kind of distress, and this certainly was no small matter.

Before he knew what he was doing, Vince found himself holding Sophia, letting her cry on his shoulder. He grudgingly admitted that he enjoyed her being there. How Alex could have been so stupid as to not acknowledge her and her love was beyond him. What a fool he had been.

Nearly an hour later, Vince had made up his mind. "Sophia," He whispered to her, her head still resting on his shoulder. Her eyes looked up at him wearily.

"Sophia, it seems my friend Alex always knows just how to cause me trouble. First he makes me sink him and lose my position, though momentarily, on the Urbanis. And now...he leaves me in charge of the Union's fleet with the woman he loved..." Vince chuckled, more in an attempt to make Sophia feel a bit better than from the fact that it was humorous.

"So...Sophia, if you need someone to act as your husband, even if just as a figurehead...I'd volunteer. It would be logical...for the Empress to marry her naval leader..."

Sophia brought her head up in surprise. "Vince..." Her eyes were wide in surprise, and her mouth was still open from speaking his name.

"That way I can keep a close watch on you. You've been stretched to the limit lately. As your husband I could take some of your duties off of your shoulders. And when the child comes, I'll look after it as my own. After all, Alex was my friend. It is the least I can do for his woman," Vince stood up.

"Vincent, I-I can't tell you how grateful I am. But, are you sure you want this? Being the emperor doesn't seem like it would suit you..."

Vince merely replied, "You should start making the preparations. The wedding will have to be soon if we want to convince the Union that the child is mine."

Sophia could not say anything, only smile, knowing that a million smiles would never repay him for what he was doing.

oOooOo

The wedding was just as grand as her Coronation Ceremony had been nearly a month before. The Dissith survivors were not entirely pleased with the arrangement, but Sophia had replaced most of her father's council members with people from Dissith. She prayed that that would be enough to quell most of the undercurrent of rebellion that she had noticed of late.

Sophia was dressed in her finest dress, extremely self-conscious. Still, her body was not yet large enough around the middle to reveal her secret. For which she was extremely grateful. She was too close to pulling this off for anything to go wrong. Naturally she was extremely nervous, but her council expected her to be nervous, albeit for a different reason.

She met Vince next to the altar. He did look rather stunning himself, dressed even better than he was on the Urbanis. For a moment Sophia wondered if she would cry. For all Vince looked good standing by the altar, how she wished it was Alex!

Vincent looked at her and knew that she would much rather have Alex standing in his place. It did hurt him, knowing that she would never be content with him the way he was with her. But that was the burden he would have to bear.

The ceremony was mostly conducted by the lead council member, who rambled on about their vows as man and wife, emperor and empress.

"kiss the bride." The aged man said warmly. Sophia and Vince's eyes met. Both of them had entirely forgotten about this part of the ceremony. _Oh Gods, why do I have to kiss her? It's not like I don't want to...but she's not over Alex yet!_

"Forgive me, Sophia," Vince whispered, audible only to her. The ceremony could not be complete without their kissing. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Sophia was relieved and at the same time startled. He was acting this out magnificently, as if he truly was in love with her. Not that most court marriages weren't done for love, but since she had not chosen to marry a Dissith man, the citizens would accept the new Emperor and Empress only if they were in love.

Vince had told himself that he would only kiss her chastely on the lips, just to seal the ceremony and be done. It was just as much a surprise to him as Sophia when he realized he wasn't satisfied with that. Indeed, the kiss was much more passionate than he had anticipated. When he let her go, both of them were just as startled as the other, though Sophia's cheeks were bright red.

Had Vince kissed her as he had originally planned, those watching the wedding would have been certain that something was wrong. Restraint was not something that newly weds had in great abundance. But Vince's quick passion was real, and the spectators knew it. The fact that their usually calm Empress was blushing only added to the authenticity. It was truly perfect.

That night was what Sophia truly dreaded. While she had forgotten about the kissing part of the wedding, she had not forgotten what a husband expected of a wife. And even though it was Vince, he was only human. She had been preparing herself for this ever since he had told her that he would marry her.

After the large banquet and ball, she and her new husband slipped away into their new room. Sophia had not even known that there was a private room this big in the palace. This was the room her father had lived in, and all of the rulers before him. She had never been in the room.

It was magnificent. The room was furnished with only the most expensive furniture, and a door at the end of the room led to a large balcony. The bed was enormous and Sophia found herself quivering with what she was certain was next. It was not that she thought Vince would hurt her; quite the contrary. She trusted him. However...she had only given herself to one man before, and wished that it wouldn't hurt her so to be with Vince. Sophia felt like she was being disloyal to Alex.

Vince sighed and sat down on the far side of the bed. "It's been a long day..." Sophia sat down on the opposite side of the bed, trying her best to get her hands to stop shaking so badly. Nothing was said between the two for a moment. Sophia was glad. She did not trust herself to be able to speak.

"Now, about our sleeping arrangements," Vince remarked, getting up to lock the door. Sophia stiffened. This was it.

He looked at her. Why was she shaking so badly? "Sophia? What's wrong?" He asked. She gazed at the floor and mumbled, "N-nothing's wrong. I-I assume you want me to take this dress off..." Sophia began fumbling with her elaborate dress, trying to get her fingers to work properly.

"What are you doing?" Vince was puzzled for a moment. Then he realized why she had been so quiet, why she was shaking, and why she looked so pale. It was so obvious that he could not help laughing.

Sophia looked horrified. Why was he laughing like that? Maybe she had been wrong about him. Her entire body froze up.

"I am so sorry Sophia! I should have told you sooner," He grinned at her petrified expression. "Sophia, when I said sleeping arrangements..." He lowered his voice, "I meant that I was going to sleep on that futon over there." Vince motioned to a large futon that Sophia had not noticed in her distress.

"But..." Sophia was confused. Wasn't he going to...?

"I wouldn't do that to you, Sophia. I know what Alex was to you, and I won't do anything to harm you. How would that be for me paying respects to my best friend? Besides, all the council needs to know is that you and I are in the same room, behind a locked door. That will give them ground enough for you to have my child," Vincent sighed. "I only have on thing to ask of you, Sophia."

"What is it?" She was still trying to get her mind around the fact that he didn't want her.

"Can I have a blanket? I mean, you have about six on this bed..." His grin grew larger when Sophia tossed one at him.

"You could sleep in the bed, though. I wouldn't mind sleeping on the futon..." Sophia argued weakly. Vince shook his head. "You need your sleep. Don't be too selfish and not think about Alex's child. Even if you want to kill yourself, that would be selfish, because that child would follow you. And I shudder at the thought of meeting a pissed off Alex in the other world because I wouldn't make you take care of yourself." With that he set about making himself as comfortable as possible on the futon. Neither of them said another word until Vince turned all of the lights.

"Vincent?"

"Yes?"

"...Thank you."

In the dark, Vince smiled and replied, "Anything for you, Sophia."

oOooOo

A little over eight months later, Sophia's child was born. The doctors were amazed at how healthy it was for a "premature" baby. It was indeed a girl, and Sophia named her Yuris. For a while Sophia had been afraid that someone would realize the connection with the name Yuris and Alex Rowe, but gradually she assured herself that no one would even think about that. The only thing that could possibly give the child away was her appearance.

Sophia had been correct about that too. When Vince saw Yuris for the first time, he could not imagine anyone even thinking that her father was anyone but Alex. Her hair was far darker than Sophia's; her eyes were identical to Alex's. She was just as quiet as Alex had been, and in her habit of watching the world through expressionless eyes, Vincent could have sworn she was Alex reincarnated. It was very difficult to find something in Yuris that was from Sophia. The only thing Vince could find was her smile. Yuris smiled like Sophia, frowned like Alex.

But it seemed that he and Sophia were the only ones who noticed that she looked nothing like either of them. The council was happy that they had an heir, and it seemed that absolutely everyone loved Yuris.

Sophia had almost stopped worrying that someone would notice. Until, nearly a year after Yuris had been born, a familiar vanship's pilots requested an audience with the Emperor and Empress. Sophia had eagerly granted Claus and Lavi permission to see her. It had been so long since she had seen anyone from the Silvanna.

"Claus! Lavi!" Sophia greeted them happily. Claus and Lavi bowed for a moment, and then stood up to talk to her.

"Empress Sophia! It is nice to see you again. I'm sorry if we are bothering you..." Claus began. Sophia shook her head, "Nonsense. Claus, Lavi, as long as you are here, please refer to me as nothing more than an old friend."

"Thank you, Empress-I mean Sophia!" Lavi said happily.

"Sophia? Is that...?" Vince asked as he entered the room, carrying Yuris in his arms, who was content to observe the world silently.

"Emperor Vincent!" Claus and Lavi chimed together. He smiled and stood next to the throne that Sophia was sitting in.

"Claus, Lavi. It's been a long time," Vince remarked.

"Oh! Is that the new baby?" Lavi asked eagerly. "She's so cute! Claus and I, well, we just got married last month, and I can't wait until I have children too! Can I hold her?"

"Lavi..." Claus looked at her, slightly embarrassed. "Lavi, don't be so upfront, we just got here, and you are talking to the Emperor..."

"That's okay," Vince assured them. "Here, Lavi. You can hold Yuris. Don't worry; she never cries." Claus was surprised when he heard that name, but did not let it show on his face. _Yuris...wasn't that Alex's..._ Claus looked at Yuris and nearly bit his tongue in surprise. If Alex had still been alive, Claus would have been certain that that was his daughter. He glanced at Lavi who was crooning nonsense to the child. She did not seem to notice anything.

Sophia saw the look on Claus' face and knew instantly that he knew.

"Claus...can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Sophia asked. Vince looked questioningly at her. Why would she have to talk to Claus alone? Then he noticed how Claus was looking at Yuris. It made sense. Claus had known Alex, and it was very obvious.

"Of course, Sophia," Claus accepted her invitation and followed her into another room. Sophia led them to a smaller room that had a lock on the door. She shut the door behind him.

"What do you think of Yuris, Claus?" Sophia wondered what Claus would say. Would he admit what he saw in her, or would he act ignorant?

"Yuris...she's a very beautiful girl...and..." Sophia was suddenly stricken with doubt. What if she had misinterpreted the look on his face? What if he really didn't know, and was getting suspicious now? What if he jumped to the wrong conclusion?

"—She takes after Alex, doesn't she, Sophia?" Claus mumbled quietly. "Alex...he would be very proud of her." Sophia nodded. "Claus, you won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I won't. If anyone finds out, it will not be because of me, Empress."

oOooOo

"Sophia." Vince lay on the same futon that he had slept on for over a year now.

"Yes, Vince?" Sophia sat on her bed staring off into the darkness. Yuris was safely asleep in the cradle next to the bed. It was very unusual for a person of nobility to actually care for their child, instead of letting the maids to all of the work. Sophia had been raised like that, her father just a dim figure in her head who was never all that important to her. She did not want Yuris to grow up that way, though.

"Sophia, the guards stopped a small riot in the streets today. It seems that there are still some people from Dissith who are not entirely happy."

"Now what?" Sophia asked wearily. They were never happy.

"In Dissith, a female child of the ruler was not considered as an heir. These people say they want a male child too, to assure the throne of a real heir," Vince heard Sophia sigh.

"So they just expect the Empress to keep having babies until she has a son? What if she had four girls? That logic makes no sense." Sophia was finding those loyal to Dissith more annoying every day.

"That is not all," Vince continued. "It seems that someone is accusing you of adultery. I think that someone finally realized that Yuris is far from being my daughter."

"And what are we supposed to do about that? Get married again, so that you can kiss me 'passionately' and act like you really do love me, like our first marriage?" Sophia made no attempt to mask her annoyance at Vince telling her something that she had suspected would come sooner or later.

"I hope you realize...that I wasn't acting that day," Vince remarked, more sharply than he had intended.

"Acting? Of course you were. It's not like you married me for love. You married me because you still felt like you owed Alex for something, though I don't know why," Sophia snapped.

"Sophia. I wasn't acting when I kissed you. I married you so that I could help protect you. I've loved you for a long time, though I didn't know how much I did until you needed someone. Alex was a fool for not living and being with you. He didn't know what he had. I did. I knew. Do you think it was easy for me to stand by you everyday, with you mourning Alex and ignoring me? Do you think it was easy for me to see you have his child instead of my own? Do you think I haven't wanted you? Well, I have, and I do. But, I love you. And I will never do anything to hurt you, though it may hurt me. And I just want you to know, Alex is gone." Vince stopped, realizing that he had said far too much. Now she was going to think that it was all her fault and it would hurt her. He had done something to hurt her. _Great. The moment I promise I won't hurt her, I go ahead and do it._

His thoughts were confirmed when he heard her sobbing in the dark. "I'm so sorry Vincent...I've been so stupid...This is exactly how Alex treated me...The only thing I wanted from him was for him to realize how much I loved him, and now...I've gone and done the same thing..." Sophia understood then, how Alex had felt when she had told him that Yuris was gone. How could she love Vince when she still loved Alex? How could Alex have loved her when he still loved Yuris?

She would have to decide.

oOooOo

Yuris sat in her mother's lap, not making a sound. Sophia was beginning to get worried. Were not babies supposed to giggle and babble? Yuris had not made a noise in what seemed like forever. What if she were mute? Sophia shuddered at the thought of anything being wrong with her.

_Maybe...I could love Alex through Yuris...and then I could love...Vince? Would Alex want me to forget about him? Would Alex want me to be alone for the rest of my life? _

She shut her eyes. There just was no straight answer. Opening her eyes again, she watched her daughter with endless fascination. It was approaching evening, and Sophia had decided that it was nice and cool for a night on the balcony. She had brought Yuris along with her. Yuris was now gazing up into the skies with a conviction that made Sophia think about Alex even more. There was no doubt about it. Yuris wanted to be in the skies just as her father had.

"Alex..." Sophia whispered into the wind.

"Alex."

Sophia was startled. Who had said that...? Her eyes caught on Yuris. Had Yuris just spoken her first word? She smiled. Yuris' voice was strong and sure, without any hesitation on either syllable of Alex.

"Yuris! Did you just say your first word? Yes you did! Come on, let's go show Father," Sophia suggested. Yuris looked up at her mother and nodded solemnly.

"Vincent!" Sophia called. It was late evening; he would be prowling about the castle somewhere.

"Yes, Sophia?" Vince asked, appearing on the balcony.

"Yuris just said her first word!" Sophia proclaimed proudly.

"Really? Well, this is special. What did you say, Yuris?" Vince knelt down to be at eye-level with his daughter.

"Alex," She said. Vince smiled, but Sophia could see it was slightly forced. She thought she understood. Yuris should have said his name, or her name, not Alex's. Vince was more Yuris's father than Alex was. But then, she was his daughter, and nearly his reincarnation.

"Vince, I've made up my mind," Sophia announced quietly. She had put Yuris to sleep in the room adjacent to them, a sure sign that she had something important to discuss. She never parted with Yuris unless it was something major.

"What did you make your mind up about?" Vince asked, confused. What type of decision was she talking about?

"You're right. I have to let Alex go. He's gone..." Her voice was thick with emotion at finally admitting that. "I will always love him, and I will always love Yuris. But...I will always love you as well. And since I can show you how much I love you, it would be wrong for me not to. When I die, and see Alex again, I can show him how much I love him. Until then..." Sophia took Vincent's hand and pulled him off of the futon that he always slept on. He looked into her eyes, and she into his. There was still pain in her eyes, but there was also more. The pain would never entirely go away, Vince knew that. But, as she kissed him, he knew that he wouldn't mind helping to take some of that pain away, if only for a moment.

oOooOo

"Are you all ready yet?" Sophia demanded. By looking at all of them, she already knew that answer. Yuris, the eldest of her children, was turning eighteen tonight. She had wavy black hair that went to her shoulders, brown-gray eyes that calmly watched the world turn, and a silent disposition. Her middle child was her daughter Aeonis. Aeonis had her father's brown hair, matching eyes, but a smile that was clearly Sophia's. Her youngest child and only son, Alex. Alex was the only of her children who looked a bit like her. He was as close in appearance to her as Yuris was to Alex Rowe.

Sophia had been startled when Vincent had insisted that his only son be named Alex, but the name had stuck, and she had no argument.

Vincent was also inspecting all of the three children, who were not so much children anymore. It was strange to be looking at them as adults, but adults they were. He gave his nod of approval and the three began their descent to the ballroom. This was their world now, not his. Once they were alone, Vince kissed Sophia and asked, "Shall we?"

She giggled and nodded, "Yes, my Emperor." The two followed their children down to the ballroom. Sophia saw Yuris turn around and smile at her for a moment, and Sophia could have sworn that it was Alex Rowe himself standing there. She still missed him, and she still loved him as much as she had the day she had met him, but she also loved Vince. It would be a strange relationship to work out in the next world, but until then, she was content loving both of them, however it was possible. And somehow it was.

A/N: Terrible right? Tell me how terrible, and make me cryreview!


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